Enrique Víctor Aquiles Balmaceda Toro
(3 March 1878 – 4 January 1962) was a
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
an politician,
diplomat and son of
President
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*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
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José Manuel Balmaceda
José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández (; July 19, 1840 – September 19, 1891) served as the 10th President of Chile from September 18, 1886, to August 29, 1891. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile. While he was ...
. He was of
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
descent and a member of the
Balmaceda family The Balmaceda family of Chile became politically influential during the 19th century, and played a very significant role in Chilean politics. The Balmaceda family is of Basque descent. They are members of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile.< ...
.
Balmaceda was born in
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
in 1878,
the seventh of eight children born to
José Manuel Balmaceda Fernández and
Emilia de Toro Herrera. He was baptised Enrique Víctor Aquiles. His mother was the granddaughter of
Mateo de Toro Zambrano, 1st Count of La Conquista. Five of his siblings lived to adulthood. His father committed suicide in 1891, when Enrique was 13 years old.
Balmaceda started his political career by joining the
Liberal Democratic Party and was promptly elected deputy for "Itata" (1906–1909) in a 1907
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
to replace deputy Alberto Sanfuentes who had died, but lost his bid for reelection. In the congressional elections of 1918, he was elected deputy for "Castro" (1918–1921) and was reelected for the same region (1921–1924). On 12 May 1921, President
Arturo Alessandri
Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (; December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a Chilean political figure and reformer who served thrice as president of Chile, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to ...
appointed him
Minister of War and Navy, position he held until 16 August 1921.
During the first administration of President
Carlos Ibáñez
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he was appointed
Minister of the Interior
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
from 23 May 1927 to 24 February 1928; he concurrently served as interim Minister of Public Works and of Justice. During the second administration of President Ibáñez, he was appointed Ambassador to the
United Kingdom
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. Balmaceda died in Santiago, in 1962, two months shy of his 84th birthday.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balmaceda, Enrique
1878 births
1962 deaths
Politicians from Santiago
Balmaceda family
Chilean people of Basque descent
Liberal Democratic Party (Chile, 1893) politicians
Chilean Ministers of Defense
Chilean Ministers of Health
Chilean Ministers of the Interior
Chilean Ministers of Justice
Chilean Ministers of Public Works
Deputies of the XXVIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile
Deputies of the XXXII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile
Deputies of the XXXIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile
Ambassadors of Chile to the United Kingdom